Chapter 738: Xu Shao is Upright, Don't Panic

One pit, and it dug up three Xu Kong Ling?

At that moment, even Xu Xiaoshou on the stage didn't believe his own words.

The people in the private boxes all felt like they had become fools in Xu Shao's eyes...

This guy wasn't here to trade treasures at all.

He was planning to crush everyone's intelligence!

"Is it you who's gone mad, or me?"

"Does he really think we're all idiots here, just for him, Xu Desai, to toy with?"

"With so many big shots in the room—some who built their empires from nothing, others who navigate both the light and dark sides—you, Xu Desai, really plan to treat us all like fools?"

The crowd erupted in mockery.

In Box Number 1, Cheng Ji could no longer hold onto the windowsill.

His hand trembled, nearly losing control of his strength, almost sending him crashing through the window and barrier to the outside.

"This Xu guy has something fishy about him!" Chu Lisheng said sternly from behind.

One pit, three Xu Kong Ling.

Either everyone here had something wrong with their brains, or Xu Kong Island had issues, or this Xu Desai was the problem...

Even if it were true as Xu Shao claimed,

Why could others barely get one, while only he, Xu Desai, could dig up three from a single pit?

"Investigate thoroughly!" Cheng Ji's eyes narrowed, a fierce glint flashing through them.

He had suspected Tian Shang Di Yi Lou for a while, but lacked evidence, and their actions were mostly just absurd.

But now, to say there's still not enough evidence would be blind.

The person on the stage was clearly treating everyone like idiots!

How could there be such coincidences in the world?

Faced with the doubts from the crowd, Xu Xiaoshou felt no inner turmoil.

He had anticipated how unbelievable it would be to produce three Xu Kong Ling at once.

But so what if they didn't believe it?

Xu Xiaoshou on the stage had already convinced himself, imagining himself as the true "chosen one" who dug up three treasures from the start.

His performance was so emotional, he was on the verge of removing his beast mask and bursting into tears.

"You all really don't need to doubt me, Xu..."

Xu Xiaoshou placed the hammer on the stage with a weary sigh, his voice filled with sorrow:

"It's just that I, as the young master, don't want to take the risk of carrying Xu Kong Ling, so I'm putting them all out here."

"Think about it, everyone!"

"If I really wanted to hide them, taking out just one wouldn't be the best outcome?"

"That way, I'd make money, and no one would suspect a thing—wouldn't that be perfect for all?"

"But now..."

He stopped abruptly, leaving a tantalizing gap for the audience below to imagine, then sighed: "Forget it, I won't say more. Starting bid: one hundred eighty billion. Let the bidding begin."

With a knock of the hammer, the crowd was stunned.

The atmosphere had just been immersed in "hmm, he does have a point," but the sudden "one hundred eighty billion" nearly scared them out of their wits.

"Goodness gracious..."

"How desperate for money must Tian Shang Di Yi Lou be to take such a risk and put out three Xu Kong Ling?"

"You're actually buying his story?" someone immediately retorted.

"I don't believe it!" another said. "But if it weren't for needing cash, I'd only put out at most two Xu Kong Ling if I were him. Why put out all three? That's just asking for suspicion."

"Maybe he's doing the opposite?"

"You try reversing it and see if you can handle the risks that come after!"

"Uh... yeah, I guess not."

"In my opinion, I'll just accept it! Maybe there really is a coincidence where one pit yields three Xu Kong Ling, and he just got incredibly lucky!"

It had to be said, Xu Xiaoshou's deliberate pause had divided the audience below.

Now, doubters and believers were arguing back and forth.

But clearly, by taking the bold risk to reveal the third Xu Kong Ling, even if some believed his explanation, he would undoubtedly face a full investigation from Sheng Shen Dian Tang afterward.

One pit, three Xu Kong Ling?

It was such a coincidence that no level of scrutiny would be excessive.

"One hundred eighty billion, Sect Master—what do you think?"

In Box Number 13, Ding Kui turned back, his face full of inquiry.

At that moment, he truly didn't know what to do.

Leng Qi was silent, slumping dazedly onto the sofa.

What a miscalculation!

Whether Tian Shang Di Yi Lou really dug up three from one pit was irrelevant to him.

All he worried about now was: was this third Xu Kong Ling truly the last one?

If it wasn't...

If it was...

If it wasn't...

If...

"Sect Master!" Ding Kui's voice snapped Leng Qi out of his trance.

"No more bidding..." Leng Qi sighed, suddenly looking decades older.

Da Xuan Tian Zong couldn't afford to bid anymore.

It wasn't that one hundred eighty billion was too expensive, but with the total from the previous items, Da Xuan Tian Zong would undoubtedly be the biggest spender at this auction.

Using the straw that breaks the camel's back to gamble on whether this was the last Xu Kong Ling was too uncertain...

For the first time, Leng Qi realized his judgment was indecisive and powerless.

He didn't know if Tian Shang Di Yi Lou had more tricks up their sleeve.

And if Xu Shao had no more, whether anyone else might have Xu Kong Ling.

If that happened, multiple blows would completely overwhelm Da Xuan Tian Zong!

"Three Xu Kong Ling..."

Leng Qi clutched the Xu Kong Ling in his hand tightly, gritting his teeth: "Enough! We're not bidding!"

"One hundred eighty billion!"

Just as everyone was still hesitating, Box Number 7 made a bid.

At that point, everyone knew Box Number 7 wasn't bidding for the high price itself, but solely to prevent Box Number 13 from monopolizing all the Xu Kong Ling.

Only forces of dominant status understood how terrifying a monopoly could be.

"Good, a bid! One hundred eighty billion once..."

Almost at the same instant Xu Xiaoshou raised the hammer and turned his head, the people in the private boxes all looked toward Box Number 13.

Inside Box Number 13, Leng Qi felt the weight of all those gazes, his heart bleeding.

In that moment,

A thought of "let's go for it one more time" flashed in his mind.

But Ding Kui sat down silently beside him and gently pressed his shoulder.

Leng Qi let out a heavy breath.

"Alright, we're not bidding."

His response echoed only within the box.

The people outside could only hear the silence from Box Number 13.

Xu Xiaoshou on the stage was greatly surprised: "One hundred eighty billion twice... How is it that at the final chance, everyone suddenly seems hesitant? Where's that earlier momentum?"

He stared intently at Box Number 13, full of expectation.

Seeing Box Number 13 still silent, Xu Xiaoshou explained again:

"It's really the last one—I truly have no more stock. Do you think digging four from one pit is possible? Are you all fools, or am I, Xu, naive?"

The entire room fell silent.

According to your logic, digging three from one pit isn't foolish or naive?

"Receiving contempt, Passive Value +262."

"Two hundred billion!" Box Number 13 didn't speak, but Box Number 66 did—the same group that had bid on Xu Kong Ling before.

"Good!"

"Two hundred billion!"

Xu Xiaoshou instantly shifted his focus, excitedly saying: "Some people are out of money, but others still have it! Let's see if Box Number 7 will counter!"

In Box Number 13, Leng Qi was so subtly insulted that he nearly stormed out to fight.

All he could think was, how had Dong Ling's president held back earlier?

If they had just set fire to this Xu Shao back then, wouldn't that have been perfect for everyone?

In Box Number 7,

Xiu Mingyue was chuckling and shaking her head at Xu Xiaoshou's words on the stage, while her guardian Mo Qing tried to advise her, but she ignored it: "Add twenty billion more. If someone bids, I'll let it go."

"No..." Mo Qing hesitated, then sighed, "Ah, forget it."

With a sigh, Mo Qing raised the sign.

"Two hundred twenty billion!"

The entire room went quiet, not a sound.

With Xu Kong Ling prices reaching this level, everyone felt their urge to complain had been drained earlier.

Now, all they could do was turn their heads back and forth, completely losing even the desire to gasp in shock.

Only the person on the stage remained the most enthusiastic, shouting with fiery energy, as if his boundless vitality would never fade:

"Wow!"

"Two hundred twenty billion once... Anyone else? Is that all it takes to stop you?"

"I don't believe it!"

Don't believe what, you big liar...

Everyone was speechless, quietly watching the one-man show on stage.

That solitary revelry ultimately led only to the room's utter silence.

"What a shame."

Even after shouting himself hoarse and being urged by the night owls to move things along, Xu Xiaoshou still didn't get another bid.

He sighed, letting the hammer fall three times.

"Deal, deal."

"I'm off now. I really have no more Xu Kong Ling. It's a pity you all didn't bid on the last one—such a waste."

Forcing some spirit, Xu Xiaoshou had the attendants come on stage to handle the spirit crystal and treasure exchange, loudly announcing: "Well, let's give a big congratulations to Box Number 13 for securing the path to sainthood with a low bid of two hundred twenty billion. Congrats to them!"

A sparse applause echoed through the room.

Low bid?

Everyone was too exhausted to complain.

Amid the crowd's looks of disdain and contempt, Xu Xiaoshou lingered to squeeze out one last wave of fleecing, then eagerly returned to his box.

"We're rich!"

In Box Number 209, the group who had watched the whole event couldn't sit still, welcoming Xu Xiaoshou back like a triumphant war god into the box.

Perhaps in others' eyes, Xu Xiaoshou's cheap auctioneer style was tacky.

But to his own people, as long as it made money, it was fine.

"Xu Shao, you're loaded!"

Mu Zixi pounced over, her eyes sparkling with the glow of spirit crystals, immediately searching everywhere for the crystal cards.

She had already calculated everything for her senior brother.

Three Xu Kong Ling, totaling four hundred billion in spirit crystals.

That... even if distributed piece by piece, it could benefit four hundred billion commoners!

An entire secular nation didn't even have that many people!

"Money..."

"So much money..."

Mu Zixi's eyes gleamed as she murmured in a daze.

She rubbed her hands, hesitating a bit, but couldn't resist her curiosity: "Xu Shao, I want to see what a four-hundred-billion card looks like..."

Xu Xiaoshou facepalmed.

He was about to hold his little junior sister back when he noticed Xin Gugu beside her with the same starry-eyed expression.

Glancing around, Xiao Wanfeng and Liu Lu were the same.

Even Mo Mo...

Mo Mo couldn't sit still either.

Four hundred billion...

Forget seeing that many digits; even a fraction of a billion was something Mo Mo had never encountered.

"It's all thanks to that one pit!" Mo Mo said with a smile as she stepped forward, preemptively cutting off any questions from Mu Zixi and Xin Gugu about where Xu Shao's three Xu Kong Ling came from.

Though she didn't know where Xu Xiaoshou got the Xu Kong Ling,

It didn't stop her from playing along.

"Exactly."

Xu Xiaoshou seamlessly picked up the act.

He entered the box, removed his beast mask, and let his eyes fill with a nostalgic gaze, as if recalling a real pit, all under the surveillance spirit array of the night owls, sighing:

"That pit was incredibly valuable!"

"I never imagined that with just a casual dig by hand, without even a shovel, I'd unearth four hundred billion. Unbelievable... tsk tsk!"

Mu Zixi and Xin Gugu froze, instinctively realizing something.

Before they could speak, Xu Xiaoshou pulled out a card for each of them, waving them with a smirk: "Want to touch?"

Xiao Wanfeng was stunned.

He never expected Xu Shao to pull out a card for him too—and the one with the highest value.

"You're really giving them to us?" Mu Zixi and Xin Gugu were doubtful.

Though they said that, it didn't stop the three from reaching out to touch the cards in Xu Xiaoshou's hand.

The moment they touched them,

Xu Xiaoshou swiftly retracted his hand, storing them back in his spatial ring, and curled his lip: "Touch is just touch—did you think I'd give them to you? Dream on!"

The three had barely touched the cards worth tens or hundreds of billions for half a second, their ecstatic expressions not even forming, before they were choked off.

"Receiving curses, Passive Value +3, +1, +1, +1..."

"Oh, right, your money—here you go." Xu Xiaoshou turned to Liu Changqing, ignoring the old man's protests, forcing the spirit crystal card on him and settling the debt on the spot.

He had no habit of owing favors.

The Blood Tree Yin Branch was worth two hundred billion, and truthfully, Xu Xiaoshou still came out ahead.

After all, it was genuinely useful and freshly harvested, straight from the source...

With the reputation of the nine great ancestral trees, it was priceless.

Why would Xu Xiaoshou begrudge those two hundred billion?

Once the money was transferred, Liu Changqing was deeply moved.

He had decided to be a mere advisor for Tian Shang Di Yi Lou, summoned and dismissed at will, just to save his life.

He never thought Xu Shao would actually pay for the Blood Tree Yin Branch...

Two hundred billion—that was no small sum!

Mu Zixi, Xin Gugu, and Xiao Wanfeng's envious gazes shifted instantly from Xu Xiaoshou to Liu Changqing.

"That's half of Xu Shao's fortune..."

"This old guy is loaded..."

Their stares made Liu Changqing feel uneasy, wondering if these youngsters might lose their minds and attack him, disregarding his cultivation, like three hungry wolves pouncing.

After all, aside from his power, these were Xu Shao's trusted inner circle.

With everything sorted, Xu Xiaoshou didn't plan to linger.

"Pack up your things; we're getting out of here!"

He instructed the group, glancing back at Liu Lu: "We're not staying—want to leave early to avoid any dangers. That should be fine, right?"

Liu Lu nodded immediately: "Of course."

In past auctions, it wasn't uncommon for someone to get a satisfactory treasure and choose to leave discreetly for safety, avoiding potential conflicts.

The night owls would be thrilled, so why stop them?

But after nodding, Liu Lu's ear twitched, and his expression suddenly turned troubled.

Xu Xiaoshou, observant as ever, noticed and felt an unexplained unease in his heart—a sign of impending trouble.

Combining the two, he was slightly startled by Liu Lu's change.

"What is it?"

Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow, looking more surprised: "We can't leave?"

Liu Lu parted his lips, listened carefully again, then nodded.

"Yes, Xu Shao. Yuan Dangjia said the Sheng Shen Dian Tang has just issued an order: no one can leave the auction early."

"But don't worry, Xu Shao, the safety of everyone here is guaranteed by Sheng Shen Dian Tang."

"You're upright, so no need to panic."